EPL: West Brom V Bolton Wanderers

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    West Brom

    League Position: 6th
    League Form: WWDLW

    Where do we even start with West Bromwich Albion. Newly promoted, one the favourites to go straight back down but yet somehow conjure a result which is unlikely to bettered all season: a 3-2 win away from home over Arsenal at The Emirates. Manager Roberto Di Matteo insists that it wasn’t a fluke, there were no slices of luck or good fortune and that his team deserved all three points and merit a tonne of respect for their achievements. We are going to disagree, that’s for sure.

    From start to finish the Baggies were in inspired mood, absorbing some early pressure and casting aside a few brief scares to scare the living daylights out of an Arsenal defence which was carved open by some intuitive thinking and bright runs from the West Brom wide players. There was just so much to their game, so much space and options out on the flanks but equally as effective going through the middle, which is unheard of at The Emirates against an Arsenal side who always doing the dominating whenever possession is concerned. From Scott Carson to Man of the Match Peter Odemwingie up front, West Brom were magnificent, a joy to behold, and had it not been for a couple of momentary lapse of concentration at the back near the end, when conceding two late goals to Samir Nasri, it would have been a perfect performance from West Brom.

    What West Brom need to do know is put that tremendous result at Arsenal to the back of their minds and concentrate on the next task at hand, a difficult trip to Bolton facing a team who held Manchester United to a 2-2 draw last weekend. And that is why we love the Premier League so much, two teams which earned two unlikely results coming face-to-face in a fixture which probably won’t attract a great deal of attention at the weekend. Even so, it’s a fixture West Brom will fancy their chances of winning after their Emirates heroics last weekend, but the problem is the Baggies are a proper footballing side, they get the ball down and thoroughly enjoy possession, whereas Bolton use all their physical attributes and nous to grind out results and that could cause West Brom, who aren’t the strongest of teams physically, problems.

    Their victory over Arsenal last Saturday sent West Brom onto Cloud 9, well close anyway, right up into sixth position in the table. Victory on Saturday, their second win in succession, their first set of back-to-back wins in the Premier League for over two years, would further enhance their standing in the table but more importantly take them closer to that magic 40 point figure needed to be almost certain of survival. Peter Odemwingie, the man of the moment, has shown he’s more than capable of leading the Baggies to such unheard heights, while if West Brom put in another titanic collective performance like their last then who would dare be a Bolton fan?

    Bolton Wanderers

    League Position: 12th
    League Form: DDLDW

    It’s an unfamiliar scenario this for Bolton, contesting a fixture against a side boasting the scalp of Arsenal at The Emirates. You could say it’s unheard of actually, but its not as if Bolton themselves don’t have a result of real note and significance under their belts after they frustrated Manchester United all afternoon last Sunday, to the point where the Red Devils where the ones doing the pegging back as Bolton took the lead twice only to be denied near the death. Still, a point against Man Utd isn’t to be sniffed at and it’s one of those result which generally breathes confidence right through a team. We shall see if that is the case on Saturday.

    The Trotters have made a stead start to the new season, suffering just one defeat in their opening six league games and their result at the weekend just epitomised how far Bolton Wanderers have come in such a short space in time under manager Owen Coyle. The former Burnley manager has completely transformed the club and how the team is now perceived by opposing clubs. No longer are fixtures with Bolton Wanderers viewed as easy outings, everyone now knows a difficult, arduous 90 minutes lye’s ahead whenever the Trotters pop up on the calender.

    But, there’s still a lack of cutting edge from Bolton which would take them from mid-table mediocrity to perhaps European contenders. Strangely enough, Bolton have actually been scoring goals this season. The forward pairing of Kevin Davies and Johan Elmander has been fruitful so far, with their Achilles heel in the early stages being their defensive attitude. Last season Bolton struggled to keep opponents at bay and didn’t register their first clean sheet until January. They avoided any such voodoo or annoyance by claiming their first shut-out on the opening day of the season – a 0-0 draw with Fulham at home – but have since reverted back to their frustrating ways. Not aided by Jussi Jaaskelainen’s three-match suspension, Bolton’s defence has shipped ten goals in its last five league games, six of which have come on the road. Furthermore, the last time Bolton kept a clean sheet away from home was back in February against one of the poorest and unpredictable sides in the league, Wigan Athletic. That remains their only away clean sheet in the Premier League since May 2009.

    In Lehman’s terms, unless Bolton score at least twice they won’t be winning this fixture. Statistics, runs and streaks are all there to be broken or altered but they also produce a clearer picture, and unfortunately this picture isn’t a masterpiece. Bolton just don’t do shut-outs on the road meaning any success they may come across this weekend looks likely to be through their forward assets of Davies and Elmander, who between them have scored four of five away goals for Bolton this season, with the miscellaneous one coming off the head of Matthew Upson of West Ham. These two did combine to deadly effect at Upton Park in Bolton’s first away encounter of the season, a 3-1 success over West Ham, but the Hammers were extremely low on confidence at the time, a far cry from that of West Brom. The Baggies aren’t just in buoyant mood after claiming the scalp of the Gunners but they’re a million times more difficult to beat at home than on the road.

    I wouldn’t say the writing is on the wall, far from it, but the signs and omens aren’t exactly pointing in Bolton’s direction.

    Match Prediction: West Brom to WIN – 2.25 Bet365

    The Baggies have been rocksolid at home so far and we fancy them to follow up their sensational win at The Emirates a week ago with another important win.

    Our only real concern with a back of the home side is whether they continue to bathe in the success of their Arsenal scalp. There is literally no time to dwell on the past, whether that be a successful moment or a bitter one, and West Brom really need to get back down to business as this fixture with Bolton Wanderers at home is one they will have almost certainly targeted beforehand as one they fancied picking up all three points in. They played good football, the full-backs get forward and overlap and if they can keep Odemwingie happy up front, and continually scoring goals, then I see no reason why West Brom won’t go on a memorable little run.

    Highlighted Bets:

    Over/Under: Under 2.5 Goals – 2.00 Bet365
    First Goalscorer: Peter Odemwingie – 6.00 Coral
    Correct Score: 1-0 West Brom – 8.50 Bet365